happy holidays!

Happy Wednesday everyone :) And happy eve of Christmas eve!

My flight leaves early tomorrow morning for Dallas and I absolutely can’t wait! My flight leaves at 9:45 but I want to give myself plenty of time, especially because we’ve been having crazy weather and after all- I am traveling on Christmas eve. D has been there since Monday and not only do I miss him but I’m ready for a nice 11 day vacation (and only missing 5 days of work- how sweet is that?). The super shuttle is coming to pick me up at 6-6:15AM so I will have to be on top of my game and get my butt in gear early tomorrow!

WONDERFUL NEWS. My parents gift to D and myself was a check to buy something for the both of us, and I purchased a nice new camera :) Which means lots and lots of pictures to come! I was honestly a little hesitant to post pictures of myself on the world wide web, but there are just too many things I want to blog about that will include pictures, and as long as I am careful I see no reason why it would be unsafe. PLUS we are getting out engagement pictures next week and I am so excited about sharing those :) And, not to sound creepy or anything (ha!) but I always like it when I’m reading a blog and I see photos of the blogger, it kind of helps me identify more with her, if that makes sense?

I’ll be signing off for a few days- but when I return I’ll have tons of pictures and stories to tell I’m sure! We will be in Dallas, Austin & Houston for the holidays. We’re also hopefully going to visit the vineyard where our wedding is going to be held and pick out wines to serve for our big day! Check out our beautiful venue here.

Okay enough rambling :) I’ll leave you with a picture of D and myself last year right before Christmas:

xoxoxoxo

quick post:

go here.

I love what one of the commenters posted:

"the definition of family changes all the time."

xoxoxoxo

shopping success

Happy Monday!

I thought I’d share some pictures from yesterday:

Pretty crazy! That’s D’s car which took us 45 minutes to shovel out, before we ran out of gas and left it in a parking lot. Ah the joys of cities with poor snow removal.

I did get the majority of my shopping done on Friday though! I got D’s gift from Nordstrom (although I’m not posting what it is because he knows about my blog and he is just sneaky like that). I will say that I’ll blog about it after Christmas because it’s a must-have for men. I also picked up a cute little mug for my roomie Katie and my old college roomie Mandi. The stores were absolutely packed because a lot of people knew the storm was coming so rushed to get all of their shopping done before the weekend. For D’s sponsor family I picked up some really nice olive oil and bread dipping sauce which I thought was really cute (that’s how you know you’re getting old, you give olive oil as a Christmas gift!).

I also did a little Christmas shopping for myself (oops)! I FINALLY ordered this bad boy:


Can’t wait for it to arrive! I’ve heard AMAZING things about the Clarisonic cleanser and I’ll definitely let you all know what I think of it after I have a chance to use it! I don’t plan on getting any facials before my wedding, so this was kind of a trade-off for the price.

xoxoxoxo

snowed in!

Yup! All snowed in! This is the view from my back porch:


D is such a sweetheart. He had his last final this morning at 8AM and then WALKED to my house to spend the day with me. It was a cold 2.5 miles!

The news reports have said we're expecting an accumulation of 18 inches so who knows when we'll be able to get out! I'm just enjoying the day with roomie Katie and D (who is thrilled to have a snow day because he just bought a new huge TV and PS3...I'd say he's set on the couch for the next few days!).

My goals for today are to clean out my closet, do laundry, and pick out outfits for our engagement pictures (December 30th so excited!).

Happy Holidays to you all! Stay safe and warm!

xoxoxoxo

oops. holiday fail.

Christmas is in 7 days, correct?

Guess who has yet to make it to the post office AND yet to shop for a few certain people.

This girl.

Good thing I have today off. I am going to try and meet D for coffee early (today is his last day of finals- thermodynamics being one of them so wish him luck!), then a hair appointment at 9, post office (for gosh knows how long) right after, shopping, cleaning, and then dinner with D's sponsor mother.

Sometimes the holidays just creep up on you and all of a sudden you're way behind! I knew I was in trouble when I came home yesterday and my best friends Christmas gift to me was sitting outside my door, along with cards from my Nanny and parents in my mailbox. Oops!



Happy Friday ya'll, have a wonderful weekend!

xoxoxoxo

honeymoon!

Happy Thursday everyone!

I work 4 days a week (10 hour days), so it’s actually my Friday :) And in the spirit of Fridays I’m going to talk about our HONEYMOON!

D booked the trip a few months ago with the intention of keeping it a secret until we arrived at the airport the day after our wedding. I love secrets but this one drove me crazy! Luckily, he caved and we’re going to spend a week in JAMAICA!

We’re going to be staying at the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Resort & Villa. I’ve never been to Jamaica so I am so so so excited! I love the beach, warm weather and a good tan so this is right up my alley!

xoxoxoxo

coconut & fish oil

My Papa was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006, and after beating the disease (albeit with rounds of chemotherapy and expensive drugs) he vowed to get healthy the natural way. All of a sudden, summers at my grandparents were filled with my Papa informing us about natural healing methods, vitamins and herbs. Before we knew it, my cousin Jeremy was treating his sunburn with coconut oil, my Nanny was on St. Johns Wort, mom was cooking quinoa, and I was putting milled flax seed in my yogurt. Ever since then I have been interested in staying healthy ‘the natural way.’ Honestly my roommates think I’m a nutjob because I keep some of the weirdest things in the kitchen. I won’t go into detail about all of the herbs, oils, and vitamins I use but I will talk about 2 of my favorite.:

1. Coconut Oil- I use this when cooking instead of olive oil or cooking sprays (FYI you can buy it scented or non-scented if you’re not into the whole coconut thing!). I also spread it on my toast. Additionally, once a week I mix about 1 cup coconut oil with 3 tablespoons sugar and use it as a body scrub. I’ve purchased some expensive body scrubs and I must say this is the softest my skin has EVER BEEN. I use it on my face and it comes out so smooth I can’t stop touching it. My face is even slightly oily and this doesn’t irritate or cause redness.
2. Fish Oil- I don’t do anything fancy with the fish oil pills, and I know a lot of ladies take them for their omega-3s. Previously I used to take one pill before bed and called it a day. However, a few weeks ago I started taking the pills 3 times a day and my skin has never looked better. Call me crazy but if any of you ladies are suffering from acne give this a try.

From time to time I’ll post about my natural remedies, but for real all you ladies need to try the scrub and the pills 3 days a week and get back to me!

xoxoxoxo

updates!

Just a few updates this Monday morning!

1-ARMY/NAVY game was AMAZING. I had such a wonderful time and even better- Navy won! We stayed at the Warwick Radisson in downtown Philadelphia, I definitely recommend the hotel to any of you traveling to Philly. Great service and wonderful location. Of course we ate Philly Cheesesteaks at the famous Gino’s and then walked across the street to their famous competitor-Pat’s. Needless to say I’m barely fitting into my pants this morning! Philadelphia is a very cool city I was very impressed- definitely surpassed my expectations.

2-If ya’ll remember a few weeks back I posted about a few products I was ordering from Sephora- the YSL Singulier mascara, MUFE HD Microfinish Powder & the MUFE Matte Velvet foundation. I am VERY happy with all 3 products. The Singulier mascara is unlike any mascara I’ve ever tried (and I love me some mascara) this is the first mascara (besides Dior Iconic) that I will repurchase. With just one coat it does what Dior Iconic does in 4. The brush is angled ever so slightly (like 30 degrees) and that makes a big difference when you’re trying to get the inside & bottom lashes. As far as MUFE, I’m disappointed I didn’t try this brand sooner. The microfinish powder is AMAZING. I was using Bare Minerals Matte for awhile and am so glad I decided to try this powder. Keeps me shine free all day and really sets my make-up. The Matte Velvet is also great. I mix is on the back of my hand with my moisturizer before I apply it, and it’s wonderful. Evens out my complexion and covers any discolorations, redness that I may have.

3- D and I stopped at a J.Crew outlet on the way home from Philly yesterday and found some AMAZING deals. We probably got well over $450 of merchandise for only $230. I got the cutest camel coat that was regular priced $200 for only $67! Cant beat that!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

xoxoxoxo

GO NAVY BEAT ARMY

Happy Friday everyone!!!

D and I will be making the trip north to Philadelphia this afternoon for the Army/Navy game. If ya'll aren't familiar with the Army/Navy game, it is ranked the #1 traditional American sporting event. Here is a blurb I found about the game:

"Sure, there are better rivalry game in terms of rankings. But in terms of history, or what it means to those enrolled in the academies and the alumni, there is simply no bigger rivalry in college football than Army-Navy.

It began in 1890, when Navy challenged the newly-formed Army team to a game. Navy won that opening contest, 24-0, and leads the all-time series with 53 wins, 49 losses, and seven ties.

The game has been held annually since then, with only a few exceptions: After the 1893 game, in which Navy won 6-4, that almost led to a duel between a Rear Admiral and a Brigadier General, the two schools weren’t allowed to travel to play and the rivalry took a five-year hiatus. It has also been canceled after the death of an Army cadet, two times during WWI and twice when the teams couldn’t agree to player eligibility standards.

But it’s what happens after the game that is probably the most impressive part -- both teams meeting at midfield, go over to the losing team’s side and sing their alma mater, then they turn around, head to the winning team’s side and sing their alma mater. We can’t quite see Michigan and Ohio State doing that."

They've even got an entire website devoted to the game which you can find here.

I must add: its no secret I'm not the biggest football fan. However, for all you single ladies out there, this is enough to get you to a game...


(hint: you dont go to watch football!)

xoxoxoxo

got a light?

I found this very interesting. I love the Freakonomics column published by the New York Times. This article talks about the inefficiencies in the U.S health care system and why the U.S. only ranks 29th in longevity. Heavy smoking is mentioned near the end of the abstract

I don't know about you all- but I was shocked when I first started my new job at how many of my coworkers smoke cigarettes. Even more so- the number of coworkers that smoke 1-2 packs a day. Maybe it is

A) my generation (a know few friends that smoke, and feel like fewer early 20 year-olds smoke now than in years past)

B) that I grew up in Colorado, which is a relatively healthy state

Either way I just remember being shocked. This summer D and I were visiting family in Texas and I couldn't believe they allowed smoking in their bars! I have asthma so needless to say it wasn't my favorite night out.

Happy Thursday (and Friday to me)!

xoxoxoxo

20 things...

20 things every woman should do before she gets married...
1. Live by herself for at least a year. {Not quite, but I’m not living with D if that counts for anything?}
2. Live with someone else for at least a year. {After living in a sorority house I feel as though I’ve exhausted this one. Try 50 girls in one house. I know how to share.}
3. Recover from a broken heart. {Semi…looking back I was a drama queen and don’t think I was in love to begin with.}
4. Have a vacation fling. {Nope- but I witnessed many!}
5. Take a road-trip with a group of girlfriends. {Havasu spring break 2006. What a trip.}
6. Relish sleeping in a queen-sized bed by herself. {Do so currently}
7. Learn to love her body. {A work in progress, but I’ll say I’m much more comfortable at 22 than I was at 18.}
8. Get her finances in order. {As of last month yes. I’ve always been pretty financially responsible, my parents did a great job and didn’t coddle me throughout college.}
9. Have sex with at least one person she’d never want to marry (or introduce to mom). {Ew, I definitely don’t think this is a must-do for women before they get married.}
10. Find reliable birth control. {Ha yes! Yaz girl. Although I must say can't wait to get off, I hate what it does to my body.}
11. Pay off as much credit card debt and student loans as possible. {Yes!}
12. Spend way too much on a something frivolous. {Too often}
13. Exorcise all past relationship demons. {Done done and done. I must say I have a hard time getting over his past relationships though.}
14. Travel somewhere exotic. {Nope, but did live in Europe when I was younger if that counts?}
15. Establish a strong circle of friends. {All my best friends.}
16. Forgive her parents for not being perfect. {Yup.}
17. Have at least one night she can’t quite remember. {Ha yes unfortunately}
18. Experience some really bad first dates. {Nope none come to mind.}
19. Find hobbies that fulfill her. {Yes love Bikram and need to find a studio here asap.}
20. Celebrate her 25th birthday. {Nope. Actually, I’ll barely be 23 when we marry. But I don’t think age really has much to do with it. Emotional maturity is really what matters and I know I’m ready to tie the knot. I know plenty of 23 (heck-35 year olds!) that haven’t reached that point in their lives yet.}

xoxoxoxo

less than 6 months!

It really seems so crazy to me that in less than 6 months D and I will be tying the knot! We got engaged March 27, 2009 which meant a long engagement (until after he finishes school- he isn’t allowed to be married while he attends) of 13 months. Which now looking back isn’t that long at all! I always hear of brides planning their weddings in under 6 months and that stresses me out! Maybe it’s because we don’t live in Texas (location of our wedding) it’s made things a bit trickier. Anywho- here is a list of things I plan on accomplishing before January 1:

-Finalize bridesmaid dresses
-Finalize MY dress (I really need to get moving on this one…)
-Finalize hotel blocking
-Find a florist
-Decide on ceremony music
-Finalize cake design

I’m very excited we have our engagement pictures on December 30th while we’re visiting his family for Christmas :) I found our photographer through one of my sorority sisters who got married last April and I just love his work. Visit his site here.

xoxoxoxo

a sephora spree...

D surprised me with the tea maker on Friday! Let me just say I LOVE this. I’ve been making tea for the past 3 days non-stop! I took the plunge this morning and only drank one cup of coffee, then I’ve been drinking tea all day and so far so good! They had a test sample of the mix I bought and I just fell in love with it. It’s the White Ayurvedic Chai and the Samurai Chat Mate. It’s a yummy chai and the rock sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness to it. I definitely recommend this and it would really make the best gift!

In other news, I went a little Sephora crazy last week (I absolutely love Sephora and will never shop at Ulta because of A) their return policy B) I had a friend that worked there and I should have written a case study about their poor management/customer service as my senior capstone- it was that bad! And C) Sephora points. Need I say more?). I received an e-mail that was $15 off any $45 purchase so of course I had to put it to good use. My Dior Iconic mascara is about to be done for, so I ordered the new YSL Singulier. I’ve heard this mascara works miracles so we will see! I also purchased the Make Up Forever HD Microfinish Powder (I’ve also heard great things about this- I’m over my mineral veil so hopefully I like this). I also purchased MUFE Matte Velvet and started using that on Friday- really like it so far, I’ve been using Bare Minerals for so long it’s weird to use an liquid foundation again but you really can’t beat the coverage.

D and I stopped by Barnes and Noble yesterday and I picked up this book for us:


We only read about 20 pages last night but we loved it. The first chapters talked about wives respecting their husbands and husbands loving their wives, and how couples are constantly going through cycles but if you always have love (for the wife) and respect (for the husband) your partners needs are fulfilled and you can conquer anything. I’d definitely recommend it for couples who are interested in improving their relationships and learning new techniques and theories how to do so. I’ll update you as we get further in the book!

xoxoxoxo

happy friday!

Look what my adorable/crafty roomie, Katie made for me:


LOVE my Christmas gift for my bestie/MOH Megan:



AND D's parents' gift came yesterday, love it framed (sorry for poor quality!):


Happy Friday have a wonderful weekend!

xoxoxoxo

did I miss something?

Why is it so hard to understand.

As a married man/woman you are allowed to sleep with ONE person.

I don't know if I'm immature/naive/crazy but does it seem like infidelity is becoming more and more common? Or are people just getting caught more? If you're contemplating straying from your marriage you certainly owe it to your partner to say something before you act on it.

My thoughts are with Elin and their two children.

xoxoxoxo

tea? yes please!

I kid you not I used to drink 7 cups of coffee a day. Insanity I tell you. I’ll go ahead and say it- if I haven’t had my coffee I’m straight up mean. Rude. Cruel. Fun for no one. So at the beginning of the summer I started curbing my addiction, and now I’m down to 2 cups every morning (I’m still hoping to get that down to only one). In the process, I started drinking more tea. I used to think tea tasted gross and reminded me of stale watered down coffee. But, once I started getting a little more adventurous (thank you Yogi tea) I found I actually really like tea. So, I introduce you to…..

Your perfect office accessory. How easy and fun is this? You just put in the loose leaf tea and hot water, and voila a perfect mug of brewed tea.

I REALLY want to try the MateVana flavor, they boast its ideal for coffee (addicts) drinkers:

“A deliciously smooth herbal tea that is perfect for coffee lovers. It does contain caffeine, but many people have a different reaction to this stimulant since it is blended with the other natural xanthines found in Mate (theophylline and theobromine). Together they create energy without jitteriness or addictive tendencies. This tea is also a wonderful diet tea, since it curbs hunger. MateVana does contain nuts.” YUMMY!

Also, I want to start using their rock sugar just because it looks so cool AND it is supposed to taste much better than regular sugar in your tea:

“Our all natural sweetners are a better way to add a touch of sugar (or honey) to your tea. White sugar affects the taste of the tea and often masks the complexity of the drink. However, our unprocessed rock cane sugar or natural honeys simply add a touch of sweetness without changing the taste of the tea. Try one out and see what you think. You just might dump the white sugar all together!”

xoxoxoxo

christmas gifts!

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Today I’m going to share a few of the Christmas gifts I’ve purchased for the family!


First, my parents: I found these awhile ago on Etsy (shocker I know) and just love the one that says ‘Family is Forever’ on it for my parents, I love all these signs/plaques they have on Etsy and my mother may have everything- but she doesn’t have one of these!

For D’s parents, I found this print and just loved it. D always sings that verse of the Texas anthem so it fit perfectly :) The seller was great and she already has sent it out, once it arrives I plan on finding a nice frame for it at Hobby Lobby maybe in black or even a gold?



For my twin brothers I’ll probably just get them iTunes gift certificates, they like to buy movies and songs on there and they’d appreciate that a lot more than clothes/cologne/or any of the other ideas I had brainstormed.

I am still looking for D’s sister, she is pregnant and due in June (her due date is actually only a few days after our wedding!) so I thought about getting her something baby related, but since we don’t know the sex it’s a little hard to pick something out.

xoxoxoxo